Host Indicted, Clinton Fund-Raiser Canceled

A Dec. 15 fund-raising event for Hillary Clinton at the home of prominent Mississippi trial laywer Richard â€œDickieâ€ Scruggs is off, now that Scruggs has been indicted for bribery.

Bill Clinton was set to be the star attraction at the event at Scruggsâ€™s Oxford, Miss., home. Hillary Clinton wasnâ€™t scheduled to attend. It was the first event that Scruggs, who made a fortune suing the tobacco industry in the 1990s, had offered to host for Clinton, a campaign spokesman said. It was canceled on Wednesday, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided his home and the federal indictment was announced.

Unlike Norman Hsu, the apparel executive who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the campaign before it was revealed heâ€™d been charged in California with fraud, Scruggs was not a Clinton â€œbundlerâ€ funneling donations from friends and associates, the campaign said.

Over the years, Scruggs has been a generous donor to Democrats, but heâ€™s also given money to Republican candidates. He gave $4,200 to Clintonâ€™s Senate campaign in 2005 but hadnâ€™t made a donation yet to her presidential bid. Scruggsâ€™s brother-in-law is Sen. Trent Lott (R., Miss.), who just announced his intention to leave the Senate before the end of the year.

Federal prosecutors in Mississippi have alleged that Scruggs tried to pass a $40,000 bribe to a state-court judge who was hearing a dispute between Scruggs and another lawyer over fees related to Hurricane Katrina litigation. Four others were indicted as well, including Scruggsâ€™s son, Zachary, and another lawyer in the Scruggs law firm.